Susan C. O’Malley, lead teacher for grades 1-2 at Explorer Community School in Redmond, has been named a Golden Apple Award winner by KCTS 9 in Seattle.

The Golden Apple Awards program honors educators and programs who make a positive difference throughout Washington state, in grades pre-K through 12. The program is sponsored by KCTS 9 and funded by PEMCO Insurance and the School Employees Credit Union of Washington.

In April, KCTS invited students, parents, teachers and community members to nominate individuals and programs epitomizing excellence in education in public or private schools across the state. The station received more than 150 nominations for this year’s Golden Apple Awards.

A panel made up of representatives from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Washington Education Association, Washington State Parent Teacher Association and Association of Washington School Principals, as well as past Golden Apple Award honorees and other educators, evaluated the nomineees and selected the individuals and projects to be honored.

The Golden Apple Award winners and the not-yet-announced Stanley O. McNaughton Golden Apple Award will be honored in ceremonies held Jan. 15, 2010 in Seattle. Elected officials and education leaders will be among the invited guests.

Each of this year’s Golden Apple winners will be recognized with a Golden Apple statuette. In addition, each individual honoree will receive $250 and each of the winning programs will receive $500. PEMCO Insurance will also award each Golden Apple recipient a $1,500 grant to use to support his or her classroom, school or educational program.

The winners will be featured in a prime-time broadcast on public television stations nationwide in February 2010.

In a nomination statement, parent Gestin Skaggs said, “Students feel encouraged to do their best for ‘Mrs. O.’ because she is always doing her best for them.”

O’Malley offers students at Explorer Community School, which shares a campus with Emily Dickinson Elementary, a unique learning environment that utilizes both an indoor classroom and outdoor laboratory, complete with a greenhouse and garden.

Students integrate math, science and problem-solving, as they grow and harvest fruits and vegetables and donate them to Hopelink’s Food Bank. O’Malley’s outstanding science education programs have been highlighted in the Redmond Reporter several times.

Most recently, O’Malley was featured in the Redmond Reporter (on Oct. 9) for her role in helping to create a pilot program for an Oregon Trail experience, which took place at Redmond’s Juel Park and Farrel-McWhirter Park. She and Clay Heilman of Redmond-based Nature Vision helped students recreate the courageous journey of pioneers on the trail.

The impressive program included both historically accurate information and a sustainability component, since students had previously traveled to Eatonville to learn about pioneer days in the Pacific Northwest.

For information about Explorer Community School, visit http://www.lwsd.org/school/explorer/Pages/default.aspx

For more information about the Golden Apple Awards, visit www.KCTS9.org.